Council charged over death of girl, 5, killed by playground swing faces £2m legal bill
A council has reportedly been charged over the death of a five-year-old girl who was killed by a rotting playground swing, and faces a potential £2m legal bill.
Schoolgirl Alexia Walenkaki was playing on a rope swing in Mile End Park, east London, on July 17 2015 when a tree trunk holding it fell on her.
She went into cardiac arrest and passed away in hospital around an hour later, with a post-mortem examination subsequently finding she had died from severe head injuries.
Last week, Tower Hamlets council signed off a £2m "extraordinary cost item" from its children's services budget to pay a potential fine and its legal costs.
The Health and Safety Executive is bringing a prosecution, as the council is charged with breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
A hearing is due to take place in October at Westminster magistrates’ court and the council is planning to plead guilty, according to The Evening Standard.
In 2018, a report by the Crown Prosecution Service's special crime division said the authority failed to organise annual inspections of the play equipment and that the wood used was unsuitable.
